C5 Rear-Ended!!! :-(

Well, it finally has happened. After owning my Corvettes ('80, '98, and '01)
since '92, I finally have been involved in a wreck...
I was sitting stopped at a light in the '01, when a 16 year old rear ended
me on a rain-slick road.The impact was straight and centered on the
rear-end.

At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the energy
absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the "impact bar" was
bent, and estimated $1,165.00 to repair it and repaint the rear fascia.
Looking at the car, you can see a tiny amount of crinkle in the paint right
below the tag mount.

My question is: should I bother with this or not? I intend to repaint the
car Torch Red (it's Quicksilver now) when the paint gets a little more wear
on it, so I'm leaning toward just saving the repair money, and having this
damage repaired when I have it painted.

Ideas???

TIA
Pappy

I would repair it. What if you get rear ended again but much worst?
You need the foam and the impact bar. It may save your life.

Pappy wrote:
> Well, it finally has happened.

....

> At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the energy
> absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the "impact bar" was
> bent,

Ow! Sorry to hear this.

Suggest strongly you make the repair. If as described by the dealer, the
ability of the structure under the fascia to absorb energy is greatly
reduced and a second strike in the same area would do a disproportionate
amount of damage. Besides, one hopes the kid (or his parents or
insurance company) will pay for it anyhow.

-- V

>
> Ow! Sorry to hear this.
>
> Suggest strongly you make the repair. If as described by the dealer, the
> ability of the structure under the fascia to absorb energy is greatly
> reduced and a second strike in the same area would do a disproportionate
> amount of damage. Besides, one hopes the kid (or his parents or
> insurance company) will pay for it anyhow.
>
> -- V

I AGREE !!!!

If you are a California owner the law states that if he rear ends you,
(that too at a stop light) then the damage is 110% his and his (or his
parents) insurance company is liable.
I assume you got your police report and all dealer paperwork done and
your insurance has been informed.

youre all set to go.. save your money for some acessories bud.
and a very Merry christmas to you.

E_Tar wrote:
>>Ow! Sorry to hear this.
>>
>>Suggest strongly you make the repair. If as described by the dealer, the
>>ability of the structure under the fascia to absorb energy is greatly
>>reduced and a second strike in the same area would do a disproportionate
>>amount of damage. Besides, one hopes the kid (or his parents or
>>insurance company) will pay for it anyhow.
>>
>>-- V
>
>
> I AGREE !!!!
>
> If you are a California owner the law states that if he rear ends you,
> (that too at a stop light) then the damage is 110% his and his (or his
> parents) insurance company is liable.
> I assume you got your police report and all dealer paperwork done and
> your insurance has been informed.
>
> youre all set to go.. save your money for some acessories bud.
> and a very Merry christmas to you.
>
I think you missed the point... Pappy wants to take the insurance money,
but not do the repairs right now, but rather save the money for a
repaint in the future.

I'd suggest it would be smart to replace the energy-absorbing material
now, as suggested by ben and V, or do that plus the repaint now.

I'm definitely going to make the repairs, and the kids Dad wrote me a check
for the damages plus the cost of a rental car for 4 days.
I'm just wondering if I could somewhat safely risk postponing the repairs
for a year or two, to avoid painting the rear fascia now, only to repaint
the whole car then. I would have the impact damage repaired at the same time
the new paint job is done...

Pappy

"WayneC" > wrote in message
...
> E_Tar wrote:
>>>Ow! Sorry to hear this.
>>>
>>>Suggest strongly you make the repair. If as described by the dealer, the
>>>ability of the structure under the fascia to absorb energy is greatly
>>>reduced and a second strike in the same area would do a disproportionate
>>>amount of damage. Besides, one hopes the kid (or his parents or
>>>insurance company) will pay for it anyhow.
>>>
>>>-- V
>>
>>
>> I AGREE !!!!
>>
>> If you are a California owner the law states that if he rear ends you,
>> (that too at a stop light) then the damage is 110% his and his (or his
>> parents) insurance company is liable.
>> I assume you got your police report and all dealer paperwork done and
>> your insurance has been informed.
>>
>> youre all set to go.. save your money for some acessories bud.
>> and a very Merry christmas to you.
>>
> I think you missed the point... Pappy wants to take the insurance money,
> but not do the repairs right now, but rather save the money for a repaint
> in the future.
>
> I'd suggest it would be smart to replace the energy-absorbing material
> now, as suggested by ben and V, or do that plus the repaint now.

Re.
> I'm just wondering if I could somewhat safely risk postponing the repairs
> for a year or two, to avoid painting the rear fascia now, only to repaint
> the whole car then. I would have the impact damage repaired at the same time
> the new paint job is done...
> Pappy


Well, here's what you could do...
Park the vette in your garage, and do not use it to commute.
use it only for a weekend drive... wait for a year and save up for the
paint job.
How much would the paint job cost (assuming you have to sand or replace
your rear end facia) ?
But don't you think it is a shame to have such a lovely car as a C5 and
waste it away without showing it the road as much as possible ? If I
had the extra money, I would just have all the work done right now.
Better to drive your car in its heyday than wait and drive it crippled
and that too rarely for fear of more damage.

But that's just one guys opinion. :-)
I'm working on restoring an 80's C3 right now, a real beaut, I will
post pics when it is done.

Everybody have a great holiday season.

As an owner of a 01 Quicksilver vert, I would have it fixed and not
repainted. Sell it and get the Torch red car you want. A repaint is never as
durable as the factory paint. I also have a 93 Ruby coupe that was repainted
and it chips so easily now.
Just my .02 worth.

"Pappy" > wrote in message
...
> Well, it finally has happened. After owning my Corvettes ('80, '98, and
> '01) since '92, I finally have been involved in a wreck...
> I was sitting stopped at a light in the '01, when a 16 year old rear ended
> me on a rain-slick road.The impact was straight and centered on the
> rear-end.
>
> At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the
> energy absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the "impact
> bar" was bent, and estimated $1,165.00 to repair it and repaint the rear
> fascia. Looking at the car, you can see a tiny amount of crinkle in the
> paint right below the tag mount.
>
> My question is: should I bother with this or not? I intend to repaint the
> car Torch Red (it's Quicksilver now) when the paint gets a little more
> wear on it, so I'm leaning toward just saving the repair money, and having
> this damage repaired when I have it painted.
>
> Ideas???
>
> TIA
> Pappy
>

If I wanted to change the color of my car, I'd probably look for stock
panels in the color I want rather than a repaint.
The only nice paint job that would have satisfied me (and I'm really not
that picky) was $10,000 (on a '78 vette).
Any other car that I have ever seen repainted had bubbles, or fisheyes,
overspray, sliced weatherstrips, windows don't go up all the way, door jambs
not cleared.. should I go on?? Replacement pannels could probably be had
for $3000-4000 used.

-Stan

"Jim & Pat" > wrote in message
...
> As an owner of a 01 Quicksilver vert, I would have it fixed and not
> repainted. Sell it and get the Torch red car you want. A repaint is never
> as
> durable as the factory paint. I also have a 93 Ruby coupe that was
> repainted
> and it chips so easily now.
> Just my .02 worth.
>
> "Pappy" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Well, it finally has happened. After owning my Corvettes ('80, '98, and
>> '01) since '92, I finally have been involved in a wreck...
>> I was sitting stopped at a light in the '01, when a 16 year old rear
>> ended me on a rain-slick road.The impact was straight and centered on the
>> rear-end.
>>
>> At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the
>> energy absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the "impact
>> bar" was bent, and estimated $1,165.00 to repair it and repaint the rear
>> fascia. Looking at the car, you can see a tiny amount of crinkle in the
>> paint right below the tag mount.
>>
>> My question is: should I bother with this or not? I intend to repaint the
>> car Torch Red (it's Quicksilver now) when the paint gets a little more
>> wear on it, so I'm leaning toward just saving the repair money, and
>> having this damage repaired when I have it painted.
>>
>> Ideas???
>>
>> TIA
>> Pappy
>>
>
>

Boy, I've had such negative feedback about the repaint idea that I'm now
having second thoughts about doing that...
Thanks for the feedback guys.
Pappy

"sbright" > wrote in message
...
> If I wanted to change the color of my car, I'd probably look for stock
> panels in the color I want rather than a repaint.
> The only nice paint job that would have satisfied me (and I'm really not
> that picky) was $10,000 (on a '78 vette).
> Any other car that I have ever seen repainted had bubbles, or fisheyes,
> overspray, sliced weatherstrips, windows don't go up all the way, door
> jambs not cleared.. should I go on?? Replacement pannels could probably
> be had for $3000-4000 used.
>
> -Stan
>
> "Jim & Pat" > wrote in message
> ...
>> As an owner of a 01 Quicksilver vert, I would have it fixed and not
>> repainted. Sell it and get the Torch red car you want. A repaint is never
>> as
>> durable as the factory paint. I also have a 93 Ruby coupe that was
>> repainted
>> and it chips so easily now.
>> Just my .02 worth.
>>
>> "Pappy" > wrote in message
>> ...
>>> Well, it finally has happened. After owning my Corvettes ('80, '98, and
>>> '01) since '92, I finally have been involved in a wreck...
>>> I was sitting stopped at a light in the '01, when a 16 year old rear
>>> ended me on a rain-slick road.The impact was straight and centered on
>>> the rear-end.
>>>
>>> At first glance, you can see no damage. However, the dealer said the
>>> energy absorbing foam behind the bumper was split in two, and the
>>> "impact bar" was bent, and estimated $1,165.00 to repair it and repaint
>>> the rear fascia. Looking at the car, you can see a tiny amount of
>>> crinkle in the paint right below the tag mount.
>>>
>>> My question is: should I bother with this or not? I intend to repaint
>>> the car Torch Red (it's Quicksilver now) when the paint gets a little
>>> more wear on it, so I'm leaning toward just saving the repair money, and
>>> having this damage repaired when I have it painted.
>>>
>>> Ideas???
>>>
>>> TIA
>>> Pappy
>>>
>>
>>
>
>